The Complete Illuminated Books
- Downloads：9368
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-08-03 07:50:57
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：William Blake
- ISBN：0500282455
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
In his Illuminated Books， William Blake combined text and imagery on a single page in a way that had not been done since the Middle Ages。 For Blake， religion and politics， intellect and emotion， mind and body were both unified and in conflict with each other: his work is expressive of his personal mythology， and his methods of conveying it were integral to its meaning。 There is no comparison with reading books such as Jerusalem， America， and Songs of Innocence and of Experience in Blake's own medium， infused with his sublime and exhilarating colors。 Tiny figures and forms dance among the lines of the text， flames appear to burn up the page， and dense passages of Biblical-sounding text are brought to a jarring halt by startling images of death， destruction， and liberation。 Blake's hope that his books would obtain wide circulation was unfulfilled: some exist only in unique copies and none was printed in more than very small numbers。 Now， for the first time， the plates from the William Blake Trust's Collected Edition have been brought together in a single volume， with transcripts of the texts and an introduction by the noted scholar David Bindman。 Includes: Jerusalem; Songs of Innocence and of Experience; All Religions are One; There is No Natural Religion; The Book of Thel; The Marriage of Heaven and Hell; Visions of the Daughters of Albion; America a Prophecy; Europe a Prophecy; The Song of Los Milton a Poem; The Ghost of Abel; On Homers Poetry and] On Virgil; Laocoon; The First Book of Urizen; The Book of Ahania; The Book of Los。
Reviews
George Walker
，
The amazing William Blake in all his classic splendor！
Indah
，
This was an excellent compilation of Blake's poetry in illuminated format。 The book is a perfect size to show off his plates。 His poetry was already amazing， but the imagery he created with his poems enhances it to a whole new level。 Highly recommend。 This was an excellent compilation of Blake's poetry in illuminated format。 The book is a perfect size to show off his plates。 His poetry was already amazing， but the imagery he created with his poems enhances it to a whole new level。 Highly recommend。 。。。more
Glen
，
"A picture is worth 。。。" unless it's Blake， then you get 2，000 。。。 in each pictureMastery and imagination。。。 classic works of art with the poetry and epochs behind them。 "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell" （basis of CS Lewis' "The Great Divorce"） is an entire mythology， as well as satire （spiritual， political， and literary; Classics as well as his contemporaries）。Terrific Illuminated stories and poems。This ebook: I wish had put each plate with that page of associated text， rather than different se "A picture is worth 。。。" unless it's Blake， then you get 2，000 。。。 in each pictureMastery and imagination。。。 classic works of art with the poetry and epochs behind them。 "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell" （basis of CS Lewis' "The Great Divorce"） is an entire mythology， as well as satire （spiritual， political， and literary; Classics as well as his contemporaries）。Terrific Illuminated stories and poems。This ebook: I wish had put each plate with that page of associated text， rather than different sections for each。 But I loved being able to see the plates with the ease of reading the formatted text。 。。。more
Joel Collier
，
William Blake is the author of some of my all time favorite poems such as Tyger and London， and his illustrations are more than worth the price of this illustrated edition。However， the longer poems like America border on the unreadable。 They are at best epic albeit incomprehensible。 The dense symbolism， bizarre philosophy and mythology， and general preachy-ness makes most of Blake’s writing tiresome。
Dana Paxson
，
The texts of Blake's work are all available in print， but they generally do not make the illustrations and illuminations easily available in low-cost form。 For anyone interested in seeing Blakes inventiveness in full cry， this e-book form offers modest reproductions that put his broad array of talents and skills on display。 The texts of Blake's work are all available in print， but they generally do not make the illustrations and illuminations easily available in low-cost form。 For anyone interested in seeing Blakes inventiveness in full cry， this e-book form offers modest reproductions that put his broad array of talents and skills on display。 。。。more
Arthur Davis
，
Did not understand it， but there was a bunch of stuff under the surface I could tell I was missing。 Will need to revisit。
Flynn William
，
I have so much to learn from you Mr。 Blake。 I will take this book with me wherever I go。
Lulu
，
Includes: Jerusalem; Songs of Innocence and of Experience; All Religions are One; There is No Natural Religion; The Book of Thel; The Marriage of Heaven and Hell; Visions of the Daughters of Albion; America a Prophecy; Europe a Prophecy; The Song of Los Milton a Poem; The Ghost of Abel; On Homers Poetry [and] On Virgil; Laocoon; The First Book of Urizen; The Book of Ahania; The Book of LosGraphic Canon; Auguries of Innocence and Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion
Kim Acco
，
Complex and rich symbolism， though I wasn't particularly moved by any of the words。 I wasn't buying the philosophy。 Complex and rich symbolism， though I wasn't particularly moved by any of the words。 I wasn't buying the philosophy。 。。。more
Andre Wyatt
，
giant book， hundreds of art templates/phrasal poems。 if you want a book of Blake this is probably all you need。
Jacques Coulardeau
，
LUMINOUS DARKNESS IN THIS SOMBER NIGHTThe English Language and English Literature have two visionary geniuses， William Shakespeare and William Blake。 They are equal because different and they are both great because they see beyond words and beyond the surface of things， though with different means at times。 And American English Literature has a third one， Walt Whitman。 Three pillars of English visionary mythology that make any other mythology， Christian， Jewish， Islamic， Hindu or Buddhist very s LUMINOUS DARKNESS IN THIS SOMBER NIGHTThe English Language and English Literature have two visionary geniuses， William Shakespeare and William Blake。 They are equal because different and they are both great because they see beyond words and beyond the surface of things， though with different means at times。 And American English Literature has a third one， Walt Whitman。 Three pillars of English visionary mythology that make any other mythology， Christian， Jewish， Islamic， Hindu or Buddhist very small indeed。 They can only compare with Maya mythology that enters a completely different though just as intense universe of fantastic and at times horrific， cosmic power and life。William Blake is a poetic monument created by human surrealist nature。 He refers to himself and his own roots exclusively though he has nourished his imagination with the visions of others and， first of all， of all Apocalypses ever written or simply imagined by anyone since the mutating birth of Homo Sapiens。 Blake wants to assume that human history， but he tries to go beyond all categories our Indo-European languages impose onto our thinking。 For him time is timeless and becomes pure duration， space is spaceless and becomes a pure and permanent reversal of the inside outside and of the outside inside。 He vertically aligns three cardinal points North， South， and East， and makes West turn around this North-South-East axis delimiting a spindle that becomes a vision of our life， soul， mind， and flesh。 We are that rotating spindle that collapses inwards permanently and swells outwards again incessantly and infinitely。 And even if we really are that spindle in every one of ourselves， the whole universe is a spindle of all the human spindles on its own and all by itself。 The whole universe is flesh， the whole universe is divine， the whole universe is satanic， the whole universe is the promise of salvation in that very Brownian chaos of our dreaming imagination that encompasses all these movements and tries to rebuild some epiphanic salvation in that seemingly incoherent apocalypse。 And that salvation is visual， a vision in color， shapes， and forms， movements and drifts and the use of illuminations and graphic representations are just the shapings of this inner mentally graphic meaning。These various dimensions are intertwined in， for example， “Jerusalem， The Emanation of the Giant Albion”: the dramatic line （single or multi-linear， if we follow the debate dominated by David Whitmarsh）， the style and the music， the imagery and the menagerie， the religious inspiration and the iconoclastic anti-references， and of course the illustrations。 Blake gives the lie to George Lakoff when this latter says， “Metaphor is a natural phenomenon since "conceptual metaphor is part of human thought， and linguistic metaphor is part of human language" （LAKOFF， G。 & JOHNSON， M。 Metaphors We Live By。 The University of Chicago Press， 2003 [1980]， p。247） For Blake it is all a mental graphic multidimensional semiotic hybridization， and thus has nothing to do with the natural of natural phenomena。 In fact， we can wonder if Lakoff does not take “natural” with the meaning of “human-produced” because “human thought and… human language” have been devised by Homo Sapiens in his long emergence from his Hominin ancestors。 Nothing natural there but only phylogenic development of the mind and language that developed pre-Sapiens Hominins into Sapiens Hominins。To capture this art you must concentrate on some sections， even short excerpts， probably one or two plates to be able to see in full detail how this poetry tries to recreate the Hebraic Semitic capture of the world and conceptualization of life， I mean the Semitic vision of the world with a language that only starts from consonantal roots and then conceptualizes a whole network of notions derived from these roots by the use of vocalic variations， the roots keeping there meaning no matter how far from them the discursive words are built with such vocalic variations and compositions of such roots and derived discursive words。 But Blake works in a language that is two phylogenic articulations further down our phylogenic evolution， a synthetic-analytical language。 Blake is a typical English poet who knows those ancient and ancestral languages enough to try to transport their conceptualizing power into English itself。 His prophetic texts are the visual and graphic results of that attempt。But to really understand Blake you also need to take into account the simple， short poems like the famous Tyger poem:Tyger Tyger， burning bright， In the forests of the night; What immortal hand or eye， Could frame thy fearful symmetry？And these simple poems have been a phenomenal inspiration to many artists in England but also in the world。 I will only take one example， Benjamin Britten and his opera The Little Sweep。 It starts from two poems by William Blake， the Chimney Sweeper， one in the Songs of Innocence （1789） and the other in the Songs of Experience （1794）。 The two poems have contradictory meanings on the basis of the same description of a hateful and bleak occupation for boys under ten。 The first poem’s conclusion is:“Though the morning was cold， Tom was happy and warm;So if all do their duty they need not fear harm。”Good boy indeed who knows his duty。 The second poem’s conclusion is"And because I am happy and dance and sing，They think they have done me no injury，And are gone to praise God and his priest and king，Who make up a heaven of our misery。"This chimney sweeper shows some kind of childish happiness that hides well the real bleak misery inside。 If we keep in mind this contradictory message from the most empathetic English poet ever， we can then get into the opera whose libretto was written by Eric Crozier。 In that opera， Benjamin Britten plays on the strong image of Blake’s first poem of these boys being locked up in black coffins of soot and their being freed by an angel。 “That thousands of sweepers， Dick， Joe， Ned， and Jack，Were all of them locked up in coffins of black。And by came an angel who had a bright key，And he opened the coffins and set them all free;Then down a green plain leaping， laughing， they run，And wash in a river， and shine in the sun。Then naked and white， all their bags left behind，They rise upon clouds and sport in the wind。”Benjamin Britten， or Eric Crozier， uses the image of the coffins many times: stuck in the chimney， then hidden in the toy cupboard， spending the night there， and finally being moved out of the house and onto his liberation in a traveling chest。 Every time the boy is liberated in a way or another， the last time is a promise though， by the children of the house who plot that whole procedure， hence playing the role of the angel and led into that by three girls along with three boys， a perfect David’s star， from two families， the Brooks （two girls and one boy） and the Cromes （two boys and one girl）， one triangle point up representing the light of divine truth poured down into the human cup and one triangle point down representing the human cup receiving the divine light。 So， enjoy Blake's poetry and try to enjoy it more than just read it。 Contemplate， empathize and visualize in your mind’s eye that poignant reality， that cruel suffering in Blake’s vision and you might be engulfed in a power that has been running from 300，000 years ago when Homo Sapiens emerged from Homo Erectus or Homo Ergaster in Black Africa to today when the whole humanity and the planet itself are on the verge of going through the sixth mass extinction of life， and this time due to over-population， over-exploitation of natural resources and extreme over-pollution。Dr。 Jacques COULARDEAU 。。。more
Peter Tillman
，
I was surprised at how little I liked this book， since I generally like Blake's art。 Perhaps because of its religious themes？ Anyway， I browsed through most of this VERY LARGE book， and finally gave up， since I couldn't find any art I really wanted to look at。 Note that a fair bit of most plates is almost illegible， hand-written text。 Very little like the attractive cover art， sigh。 Not for me！ I was surprised at how little I liked this book， since I generally like Blake's art。 Perhaps because of its religious themes？ Anyway， I browsed through most of this VERY LARGE book， and finally gave up， since I couldn't find any art I really wanted to look at。 Note that a fair bit of most plates is almost illegible， hand-written text。 Very little like the attractive cover art， sigh。 Not for me！ 。。。more
Ned Netherwood
，
A thing of wonderous beauty， giving you a true view of how Blake was a true multimedia artist。 The text is a little hard to read at times but who cares when there is genius to be viewed。 Still can't make it though the whole epic Jerusalem， though， but the pictures are great😎 A thing of wonderous beauty， giving you a true view of how Blake was a true multimedia artist。 The text is a little hard to read at times but who cares when there is genius to be viewed。 Still can't make it though the whole epic Jerusalem， though， but the pictures are great😎 。。。more
Matthew Wielgus
，
If you have any interest in William Blake， this should be a default choice for reading。 It takes some of his best prints and provides them for the reader at home at （mostly） 1:1 scale。 By doing so， the book enables the reader to better appreciate Blake's artistry and attention to detail。 Also， it gives his poetry the physical context of the page which collected volumes sorely lack。There is an online source， free of charge， that gives you visual access to the poems， but having them physically and If you have any interest in William Blake， this should be a default choice for reading。 It takes some of his best prints and provides them for the reader at home at （mostly） 1:1 scale。 By doing so， the book enables the reader to better appreciate Blake's artistry and attention to detail。 Also， it gives his poetry the physical context of the page which collected volumes sorely lack。There is an online source， free of charge， that gives you visual access to the poems， but having them physically and of their original size， I feel is much more valuable。 。。。more
Jackie Carreira
，
My idea of sheer beauty through words and pictures in one book。
Abby
，
Made it up through "Jerusalem"， and then picked up on the other side with the shorter pieces。 You say 'complex mythology'， I say 'high as a goddamn kite' and how awesome is that？ Made it up through "Jerusalem"， and then picked up on the other side with the shorter pieces。 You say 'complex mythology'， I say 'high as a goddamn kite' and how awesome is that？ 。。。more
Ruth Luna
，
Is very interesting
Morgana Blackrose
，
Astounding publication。。。been getting into Blake quite a lot in recent months， and I finally decided to get his complete works， all in one volume。 And what a volume！ This softback is A4 in size， heavier than some hardbacks， and contains not only every original page Blake wrote， painted and printed but the full texts as well （since his own handwriting， while meticulous， is heavy-going on the eye for long periods）。 His marriage of art and text - not just a combination， but a perfect integration - Astounding publication。。。been getting into Blake quite a lot in recent months， and I finally decided to get his complete works， all in one volume。 And what a volume！ This softback is A4 in size， heavier than some hardbacks， and contains not only every original page Blake wrote， painted and printed but the full texts as well （since his own handwriting， while meticulous， is heavy-going on the eye for long periods）。 His marriage of art and text - not just a combination， but a perfect integration - was more than a century ahead of its time and has long been an inspiration to my own past attempts at graphic fiction。 For anybody with even a passing interest in this true radical artist and writer， this book's an essential purchase， and it's none too expensive either。I'm not even going to try to review the content - it is what it is， but for those who only know him through his lovable Songs of Innocence and Experience， herein you can discover an entire universe of deep， profound mysticism， baffling yet fascinating imagery， and prophecy。 If he was around now， Blake would have a legion of followers and be the head of his own religious cult （though I doubt he would have wanted such responsibility）。Some creators， sad to say， do only live posthumously， and that's the only downside to this book - the realisation that his incredible works were barely read or seen in his own lifetime。 Make up for that now and treat yourself。 。。。more
ZaRi
，
Ah Sun-flower！ weary of time，Who countest the steps of the Sun:Seeking after that sweet golden climeWhere the travellers journey is done。 Where the Youth pined away with desire，And the pale Virgin shrouded in snow: Arise from their graves and aspire， Where my Sun-flower wishes to go。
Heather
，
William Blake just cracked open my brain and poured in the entire universe。I looked through this book mostly for the artwork， since a lot of the plates are somewhat difficult to read。 Nonetheless， what an experience。 Blake's engravings got much more complex as he went along， and the coloring。。。 it's just beyond words。 It's the entire human experience expressed in mythological art。 Now I'm really， really glad that I began dipping my toes into Joseph Campbell before re-approaching Blake。 Having so William Blake just cracked open my brain and poured in the entire universe。I looked through this book mostly for the artwork， since a lot of the plates are somewhat difficult to read。 Nonetheless， what an experience。 Blake's engravings got much more complex as he went along， and the coloring。。。 it's just beyond words。 It's the entire human experience expressed in mythological art。 Now I'm really， really glad that I began dipping my toes into Joseph Campbell before re-approaching Blake。 Having some concept of a universal（？） mythology helps。（from Jerusalem， plate 77， "To the Christians"）I stood among my valleys of the southAnd saw a flame of fire， even as a WheelOf fire surrounding all the heavens: it wentFrom west to east against the current ofCreation， and devourd all things in its loudFury & thundering course round heaven & earthBy it the Sun was rolld into an orb:By it the Moon faded into a globe。Travelling thro the night: for from its direAnd restless fury， Man himself shrunk upInto a little root a fathom long。And I asked a Watcher & a Holy-OneIts Name？ he answerd。 It is the Wheel of ReligionI wept & said。 Is this the law of JesusThis terrible devouring sword turning every wayHe answerd; Jesus died because he stroveAgainst the current of this Wheel: its NameIs Caiaphas， the dark Preacher of DeathOf sin， of sorrow， & of punishment;Opposing Nature！ It is Natural ReligionBut Jesus is the bright Preacher of LifeCreating Nature from this fiery Law，By self-denial & forgiveness of Sin:Go therefore， cast out devils in Christs nameHeal thou the sick of spiritual diseasePity the evil。 for thou art not sentTo smite with terror & with punishmentsThose that are sick。 like to the PhariseesCrucifying & encompasing sea & landFor proselytes to tyranny & wrath。But to the Publicans & Harlots go！Teach them True Happiness。 but let no curseGo forth out of thy mouth to blight their peaceFor Hell is opend to Heaven; thine eyes beheldThe dungeons burst & the Prisoners set free。Wow。 。。。more
Trishwah
，
Blake produced such interesting works of art。 As a printer/writer， I really think if you are going to study his work， you ought to look at the original printing。 Though it's fascinating， Blake really had his own mythology and it's a little bit out there， even as myths go， and kind of dark。 Blake produced such interesting works of art。 As a printer/writer， I really think if you are going to study his work， you ought to look at the original printing。 Though it's fascinating， Blake really had his own mythology and it's a little bit out there， even as myths go， and kind of dark。 。。。more
F。J。 Commelin
，
A wonderful work， lavishly illustrated and with all the texts also in normal typescript to make it a easier reading。After reading Peter Ackroyd's biography about Blake i took this one from the shelf again and it spoke even more to me than before。 A wonderful work， lavishly illustrated and with all the texts also in normal typescript to make it a easier reading。After reading Peter Ackroyd's biography about Blake i took this one from the shelf again and it spoke even more to me than before。 。。。more
Alex Obrigewitsch
，
If you are going to read Blake then this is a must-have。 for it is a reading beyond mere words， and art beyond pictures。 Blake fuses vision and word into a transcendental art that burns itself into the brain as he did his art into the copper plate。
Steven Van der Werf
，
I found this in full colour hardback via a specialist bookstore online。 I do not recall what it cost， only that it was more than worth it。 Splendid。
Laurel Narizny
，
A great collection of Blake's illuminated works， complete with transcripts。 The only thing I'd change （aside from adding some more explanations/analysis of each work） is to make all the plates large enough to read and to match the size of the paper。 As is， they're printed at their original size， which in some cases takes up less than half the page and is hard to read。 A great collection of Blake's illuminated works， complete with transcripts。 The only thing I'd change （aside from adding some more explanations/analysis of each work） is to make all the plates large enough to read and to match the size of the paper。 As is， they're printed at their original size， which in some cases takes up less than half the page and is hard to read。 。。。more
Sonja Trbojevic
，
Fabulous edition
Katrina
，
Beautiful compilation of Blakes work！
Jen
，
I think William Blake created some of the most visually remarkable works of literature EVER。 Finding his art in museums was one of the most meaningful things I did in England。 I rated this book a 5 because of the artwork， and some of writing as well。 However， I can't say I enjoy all of his writing because I just really don't。 Even when I don't care for what he is saying， I still linger and enjoy what is on the page because it is so incredibly beautiful。 I think William Blake created some of the most visually remarkable works of literature EVER。 Finding his art in museums was one of the most meaningful things I did in England。 I rated this book a 5 because of the artwork， and some of writing as well。 However， I can't say I enjoy all of his writing because I just really don't。 Even when I don't care for what he is saying， I still linger and enjoy what is on the page because it is so incredibly beautiful。 。。。more
Gemma Humphrey
，
I ordered this some time ago （months in fact） as part of some research i'm doing for a project but when it arrived i was amazed at its quality。 the prints are beautiful and， although i was familiar with a lot of the poems and writings， when you combine them with the illustrations its fascinating and brings a whole new depth to the text。 if you have any interest in Blake and his works， i would recommend this whole-heartedly！ I ordered this some time ago （months in fact） as part of some research i'm doing for a project but when it arrived i was amazed at its quality。 the prints are beautiful and， although i was familiar with a lot of the poems and writings， when you combine them with the illustrations its fascinating and brings a whole new depth to the text。 if you have any interest in Blake and his works， i would recommend this whole-heartedly！ 。。。more
Bria
，